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THE 



GEOaRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



BY 



FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D. 




:3««S^ 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1918 

All rights reserved 



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THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



By Frank M. McMurey 




FiQ. 2. 



1. German Empire in 1914 
(Before the War) 

In order to understand the geography of 
the war, it is necessary to make some study 
of Germany. 

There are manv states in the German 



Empire, just as there are many in our own 
country, and they vary in size and im- 
portance even much more than grates of the 
do ours. In Fig. 2 one can German 
easily see which is largest. Empire 
How does Prussia compare with all the other 
states together in area and population? 



Copyright, 1918, by Tt^e Macmillan Company 

1 ©CI.A50824^ 



NOV 21 1918 



•rVvf) 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Which is st'coiid iu area and population? 
^ Which is third in eacli ? Trace the boiUKhiry 
of Prussia. Locate Bavaria and Saxony. 
Note that three of the states are only cities. 
Name and locate each of these. 

Our largest state is Texas, which is more 
than two hundred times as large as Rhode 
Island, our smallest. Our largest state in 
population is New York, which contains 
more than one hundred times as many 
people as Nevada, our smallest state in 
population. Yet we have no state that is 
nearly equal to all the others either in area 
or population ; in fact, each is a very small 
part of the whole. 

From the map it is plain why people so 
often name Prussia when speaking of Ger- 
many. Perhaps the map suggests to you, 
too, that it is dangerous for a nation to 
have one state so much larger than all the 
others together. In the United States there is 
no such danger. But if Prussia's importance 
and power correspond to its size, it can con- 
trol the other twenty-four states and have 
its own way. If it happened to be governed 
by selfish men, all the other states would 
have to suffer ; and even if it were well gov- 
erned, the other states would have too little 
of self-government. It is generally believed 
that these dangers have not been avoided ; 
indeed, that Prussia's bad leadership has 
been the principal cans? of the great war. 

Germany has only a small number of 
colonies, as is seen in Fig. 1. Notice their 
areas. There are three that 
are each much larger than 
Germany, and their popula- 
tions together reach well into 
the millions. All of them are 
in the torrid zone or very close 
to it. Locate each of those in Africa. 
Note the latitude of New Guinea. 

Germany has been greatly interested in 
2. Their her colouies and has spent 

importance |.^,.gp g^„^^^ ^^f money for their 

development. Her apparent aim has been 



Germany's 

principal 

colonies 

I. Location, 
area, and 
population 



to find suitable places for the emigration of 
Germans from the Fatherland. Although 
the density of population of Germany itself 
(Fig. 534, main text) is not so great as 
that of some other countries, it has greatly 
increased in recent years and some outlet 
has seemed necessary. 

The fact is, however, that very few Ger- 
mans have emigrated to these colonies. 
One reason for this is that the torrid climate 
there makes life almost impossible for white 
people ; at any rate, in such regions the 
white man soon loses energy and health. 

The kind of government that a country 
has may be of vital importance to other 
countries, and that is true of the -pj^g objection 
German government. Its form to their kind 
is a monarchy and the chief of government 
officer is the Kaiser, William II. He ap- 
points the leading minister, called the Chan- 
cellor, and the latter appoints the other 
members of the cabinet, such, for example, 
as IVIinister of Interior, and Minister of 
Education. The difficulty is that these 
ministers who form the German cabinet and 
very largely' control the state are respon- 
sible to the Kaiser, and not to the people. 
Also, the Kaiser is not elected by popular 
vote, as our President is, but has in- 
herited his office and claims that he holds 
it by divine right, or by appointment from 
(jod alone. Neither is he responsible to the 
people. 

Thus the people have little authority in 
the government. It is their duty to be 
directed, — to obey, rather than to lead. 
There is no effective check on the Kaiser 
or on the leading statesmen subject to him, 
if they happen to be narrow in their plans 
or too ambitious ; these leaders can even de- 
clare war without the consent of the people. 

To this power our objection is very serious. 
We do not believe that a few men should 
have such power. War is so fearful an 
undertaking, the welfare of the mass of the 
people is so involved in it, that they ought 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




to have a voice in deciding such an issue ; at 
least, only those who represent them and are 
fully responsible 
to them, should 
have that power. 
Otherwise a 
s m a 1 1 ^ Tg r o u p 
might at any 
time make end- 
less trouble both 
for themselves 
and for other 
nations. That 
is what the 
small group in 
Germany has 
done, in starting 
this war, and the 
United States is 
determined to 
aid in making 
such a step im- 
possible again. This is one of our great 
aims in the present war. 

2. Examples of Prussian Leadership 

We commonly think of the United States 
as a young nation, and of the governments 
The youth of ^^ Europe as very old, but 
the German the fact is that Germany is the 
Empire youngest of the great nations. 

We are nearly a centiu'y older than Ger- 
many, for that Empire was founded in 1S71. 
There were, of course, German people living 
in that region long before, but until that 
date they were not brought together to 
form the German Empire. 

The leadership in German affairs, both 
before 1871 and since, has rested with Prussia. 
Several acts show the spirit that has pre- 
vailed in Prussia and, therefore, in the Ger- 
man Empire during the last sixty years. 

About 1860 a very strong and unscrupu- 
lous man named Otto von Bismarck became 
the chief minister in Prussia. His aim was 



to nuike Prussia powerful without much re- 
gard to the rights of other people. One of 



© Underwood and Underwood 
Fig. 3. — German submarine of the largest type stopping the Spanish mail steamer off Cadiz. 



his early acts was to attack the little country 
of Denmark and take from it the south- 
ern section called Schleswig- Annexation of 
Holstein, about one third of Schleswig- 
the whole country. This region Holstein 
was annexed to Prussia and has remained 
a part of it ever since (Fig. 2). 

In area Schleswig-Holstein is nearly equal 
to Massachusetts, and it has been important 
as a farming region. 

The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the naval 
port, Kiel, ha\'e made it especially noted 
in recent years (Fig. 4). The canal was 
dug in order 'to secure a short and safe 
route for vessels from the North Sea to the 
Baltic. Kiel is a port at the eastern end 
of the canal, with a harbor so remarkably 
good that it has become the chief naval 
station of Germany. German war vessels 
can reach the North Sea very quickly 
from this haven, and they can escape 
just as quickly by this route when there 
is need. 

Very soon after 1870 Germanv found a 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



chance to quarrel with France and improved 
the opportunity. France was invaded and 
Annexation of ^^ris captured within a few 
Alsace- months. The terms of peace 

Lorraine ^}^f^^ were finally agreed upon 

required France to pay to the Germans an 
indemnitv of one billion dollars and also 





h -• \Lei'«\ /y St 

( ^--^teBretnerhaven''v/ <^ /' 

Jim IK L J \ 'j/Bremervorde 



Longitude East frum GreeQwiub 



Fui. 4. 

to cede to them the region called Alsace- 
Lorraine (Fig. 2). 

This is a region about as large as Con- 
necticut and, like Schleswig-IIolstein, valuable 
for its farm ])ro(lucts, especially grapes, and 
for its textile industries. But there were two 
other reasons why Prussia coveted it. 

It is a land that is remarkably rich in iron 
ore and coal, and while Germany had ores 
in other sections, none of those sections was 
so rich in these two minerals. The (rer- 
mans foresaw that their need of iron would 
be likely to increase in the future, owing 
both to increased maiuifacturing and also 
to possible war. War calls for an enormous 
amount of iron and steel. In 1911 they 
obtained over three times as much iron ore 



from this territory as from all the rest of 
Prussia; and had they not had these rich 
iron mines in their possession this great 
war would have ceased long ago. 

The other reason was, perhaps, just as 
important in their minds. Alsace-Lorraine 
had been the principal source of iron in 
France, and if France were de- 
prived of it, the Germans 
thought she could hardly carry 
on a successful war in the 
future. She might, then, be re- 
fluced to a second-class power 
and Germany would be able 
to overcome her at will. 

3. Ambitions of Germany 
since 1871 

The Prussians and some of 
the small German states that 
had joined them Reasons for 
had much reason encourage- 
to feel encouraged "^^"^ 
by their successes. As a re- 
sult of the war with Denmark 
they had acquired extensive 
territory ; as a result of their 
struggle with France they had 
obtained still more valuable territory and a 
billion dollars besides. There was another 
great benefit. This Franco-Prussian war, as 
it was called, had brought the many small 
political divisions of the Germans together 
and made it po.ssible to found, by their 
union, a new nation called the German 
Empire. That great event took place, as 
stated before, in 1871. 

Thus the Germans started out as a new 
nation feeling highly pleased with them- 
selves. They had been invincible in fighting 
and had also become rich. A billion dollars 
in those days seemed a fabulous amount and 
made the (iermans feel that they were rolling 
in wealth. Another fact gave reason for 
great pride. Neither of these wars had 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



lasted more than a few months and they 
were therefore not very costly. That fact 
mnst have awakened a very important ques- 
tion in the minds of the people : If wars can 
prove so profitable and yet can be made to 
cost so little, may they not be very desirable 
for a nation ? May not w ar be a very good 
thing ? 

After the founding of the empire Bismarck 
remained Chancellor for many years. He 
The Middle- was ambitious to develop its 
Europe plan power to the fullest extent, in- 
deed to make it supreme in Europe just as 
he had made Prussia supreme in Germany. 
To this end not only schools were developed 
and mines and factories, but great schemes 
for political power as well. One of the 
latter was called the " Mittel-Europa " or 
in English the " Middle-Europe " plan. 

This was a scheme for the combination 
under one leadership of as many of the 
I . What the countries in central Europe as 
plan was possible. They were to support 

one another in commerce and also in de- 
fense against enemies in war. The govern- 
ments were to be independent as before, 
but the several nations were to act together 
in military and economic matters. 

On Fig. 416, main text, you can see what 
nations might have been expected to join such 
2 Who the ^ league. The two most promi- 
leader was nent would naturally be Ger- 

° ® many and Austria-Hungary. 

Several, if not all, of the Balkan States 
would be included, and Turkey, for she 
still had some territory in Europe. It 
was hoped, too, that Norway and Sweden, 
Denmark, Holland, and Italy might be in- 
duced to join. 

Of the two most prominent nations Austria- 
Hungary could not, of course, be the leader. 
Her area was somewhat greater than that 
of Germany and her population not very 
much less. Her population was very mixed, 
however, with many opposing interests, and 
their union under one ruler was verv loose. 



It had long been expected that at the death 
of the Emperor Francis Joseph, which oc- 
curred only in 1916, the empire would neces- 
sarily fall apart, according to the many 
nationalities that composed it. 

In such circumstances the leadership 
would naturally fall to Germany, for she 
was by far the strongest power. 

Such leadership by Germany, since it 
would allow her to dominate this group of 
states, both in military and economic mat- 
ters, would immensely increase her power 
both in war and in peace. 

"^rhere was another project which was 
closely related to this one and was really a 
continuation of it. This became know^n as 
the " Berlin-to-Bagdad Plan," and as time 
passed the two were de^•eloped together. 

According to this scheme the Middle- 
Europe project was to be extended so as 
to include southwestern Asia. The Berlin-to- 
Asia Minor just south of the Bagdad plan 
Black Sea is held by Turkey, i. what the 
and to the south and south- project was 
east of that region are a number of weak 
Mohammedan states somewhat under the 
control of Turkey. Through a close alliance 
with Turkey, Germany secured valuable 
rights in this entire area, including the right 
to plant colonies, develop trade, and build 
railways. An especially important feature 
in the plan was the building of a railroad 
all the way from Constantinople to Bagdad, 
more than a thousand miles distant, on the 
Tigris River. This river flows through the 
famous coimtry of INIesopotamia and to the 
Persian Gulf. This road would, of course, 
be connected with the road from Berlin to 
Constantinople, so that Berlin, and even 
Hamburg, would be directly connected by 
rail with Bagdad ; hence the name, the 
" Berlin-to-Bagdad Plan." The right for its 
construction was obtained from Turkey by 
Germany in 1902-1903. Figure 5 shows how 
nearly completed this railroad was in Jan- 
uary, 191S. Estimate the number of miles 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



that remain to be built. Note the countries 
through which it passes. 

The Turkish Government has always been 
legarded as exceedingly untrustworthy and 
cruel ; and it has allowed or even favored 
so many massacres of innocent people within 
its borders that it has hardly been classed 
among the civilized nations. Yet in order 
to carry through the Berlin to Bagdad pro- 
ject the Germans cultivated the friendship 



tains valuable mineral deposits, also. It 
promised, therefore, to be a good substitute 
for some of the colonies that Germany 
thought she needed so badly. 

The railroad as a means for transportation 
of goods secured a very important advantage. 
Heretofore the shortest route by water for 
goods from India, the East Indies, and other 
countries of eastern Asia, to western Europe 
has been around Arabia, through the Suez 



PROPOSED 
BERLIN TO BAGDAD RAILWAY 




Fic 

of the Turks diligently, and the Kaiser, in 
a speech at Damascus in 1898, declared : 
" The three hundred million Mohammedans 
wdio live scattered over the globe may be 
assured of this, that the German Emperor 
will be their friend at all times." 

Much of the Turkish Empire is arid ; but 
in Bible times the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, 
2. Its value in or Mesopotamia, was very pro- 
time of peace ductive, and by the aid of irri- 
gation it could be made so again. It con- 



Gaiial and the entire length of the Mediter- 
ranean, to the Atlantic Ocean. Trace this 
course in Fig. 1. This was usually a safer 
and easier route than any by land. Even 
goods from many parts of the Turkish Em- 
pire have had to be transported long dis- 
tances by camels in order to reach Europe. 
But this railway would solve these difficulties 
of transportation. It would furnish a far 
shorter and more convenient route to and 
from the Orient, and save a great quantity 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



of time. It is no wonder that Germany 
magnified sueli an advantage. 

Preparation for war, as has been indicated, 
has always been an important part of the 
3. Its value in German plans. This proposed 
time of war road secured a very great ad- 
vantage in case of war, particularly war 
with either Russia or Great Britain, who 
were her most dangerous opponents among 
the Great Powers. 

It gave to Germany the control of Con- 
stantinople and, thereby, of the passage 
from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. 
This is the outlet by water on which Russia 
has always been most dependent, for her 
ports in the Baltic Sea and on the Arctic 
are hard to reach and frozen up much of 
the year. Yet Russia could now easily be 
blocked at this point by Germany. 

The most valaable colony in all the 
British Empire is India, toward which this 
railroad reaches. King George is known 
as King of England and Emperor of India. 
There are an enormous population and imtold 
wealth in that vast country, and no doubt 
Germany has often cast longing eyes in its 
direction. If she were at war with England 
this railroad might make it easy for her to 
make a vast amount of trouble in India, and 
perhaps to attack it directly with an army. 

The realization of the Berlin-to-Bagdad 
plan required that Germany dominate all 

Why this ^^^ countries through which the 
plan is ofifensive road passed ; in short, they 
to the world ^,^^^j^j practically have to be 
governed by Germany or her allies. In 
these countries are people of many different 
races and languages who have few interests 
in common and who are just as anxious to 
govern themselves as we are to go\'ern 
ourselves. Our idea is that they should 
have this privilege ; that it would be most 
unjust and an act of extreme tyranny for 
another nation, simply because it had the 
power, to subject these peoples to its own 
will. We should not expect them all to 



submit, and the plan would therefore mean 
a state of constant warfare over this vast 
area. 

Referring to this plan of the Germans 
President Wilson, in his Flag Day Address, 
June 14, 1917, said : 

" Their plan was to throw a broad belt of 
German military power and political control 
across the very center of Europe and beyond 
the Mediterranean into the heart of Asia ; 
and Austria-Hungary was to be as much 
their tool and pawn as Serbia or Bulgaria 
or Turkey or the ponderous states of the 
East. Austria-Hungary, indeed, was to be- 
come part of the central German Empire, 
absorbed and dominated by the same forces 
and influences that had originally cemented 
the German states themselves. The dream 
had its heart at Berlin. It could have had 
a heart nowhere else I It rejected the idea 
of solidarity of race entirely. The choice 
of peoples played no part in it at all. It 
contemplated binding together racial and 
political units which could be kept together 
only by force — Czechs, Magyars, Croats, 
Serbs, Roumanians, Tiu"ks, Armenians — the 
proud states of Bohemia and Hungary, the 
stout little commonwealths of the Balkans, 
the indomitable Turks, the subtile peoples 
of the East. These people did not wish to 
be united. They ardently desired to direct 
their own affairs, would be satisfied only by 
undisputed independence. They could be 
kept quiet only by the presence or the con- 
stant threat of armed men. They would 
live under a common power only by sheer 
compulsion and await the day of revolution. 
But the German military statesmen had 
reckoned with all that and were ready to 
deal with it in their own way." 

It might seem that German ambition 
would be satisfied with all the preceding 
plans. But there is one other Pan- 
aim that shows still wider am- Germanism 
bitions among some of the leading Germans. 
It is known bv the name of Pan-Germanism. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



There are many (Jerinans scattered over 
the earth. ]\IiIlions of our own citizens are 
•of German birth or descent ; there is a 
hirge number in Brazil, in Chile, and else- 
where. It was the plan to unite all these 
as far as possible. For that purpose many 
societies were formed in these countries, and 
other societies were organized in Germany to 
keep in touch with them. German-speaking 
])eople in foreign lands were urged to pre- 
serve the use of the German language, and 
money from Germany was freely spent in 
foreign lands to found German newspapers 
which should spread German culture. 



themselves as Germans rather than Ameri- 
cans and to act accordingly. That would 
tend to make trouble for the rest of the 
world ; but it might strengthen (xermany, 
and that was the object. The part " pan " 
in the term " Pan-Germanism " is from the 
(xreek meaning " all," and the name signifies 
the extension of German rule wherever Ger- 
mans live. 

All these plans made war a possibility at 
any time and a certainty some time in the 
near future. German states- Preparations 
men foresaw this outcome from ^^^ w*r 
the beginning and for the last fifty years 



ARMIES, PEACE FOOTING JANUARY 1914 
250,.000 500,,000 



1,000,000 



RUSSIA.... 
FRANCE... 
ITALY 



GREAT 

BRITAIN - 

RUMANIA 

UNITED 

STATES 

BELGIUM 

SERBIA . 

PORTUGAL 



GERMANY. 
AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY 
TURKEY... 



BULGARIA 



,290,000 
.763,820 
.305,038 
.250,000 
. 130,000 
. 104,569 
. 47,603 
361,747 
.30,000 

.866,026 
424,258 
.210,000 
.. 5Q.900 



•<yyy^y^yfi^.^<^^y^y^yyyyy^^^ 



■■'y^y>yyy^yy\ ; 



w/^/y ^ 



'yyy^y^>yy:^iyyyyy^^i^ 



■y<>y^y^;yyy<yyyyyyyyyy^^^ 



-yyyyyyyyyyyyy^yyyyyyyyA 



I .■ ■ . ,:' .. : . I 



Fig. 6. 



There was no objection to all this provided 
it aimed at nothing more than a warm feel- 
ing toward the Mother (^)untry. With many 
Germans, however, it meant much more. 
With them the idea had become established 
that all Germans, no matter where they 
dwelt, should be regarded as forming one 
great nation. And again, of course, that 
great nation was to be (rcrmany. In 1905 
(rerniany passed a law providing that every 
German who became a citizen of a foreign 
country might at the same time retain his 
citizenship in Germany. In that case, if 
a war were to begin between Germany and 
the United States, the b5,0()0,()00 Germans 
in our country would be invited to count 



their preparations for war have kept pace 
with their dexelopment of these projects. 
Any American who visited Germany thirty 
years ago was struck with the prominence 
of army officers and soldiers everywhere. 
Even then e\'ery able-bodied man had to 
receive some training for war. Since that 
time such preparations have greatl\' in- 
creased. In the years 1911, 1912, and 19i::5 
the German army in time of peace was 
raised from 515,000 to 8()(i,0()0 men. War 
taxes were raised correspondingly. The gov- 
ernment made great purchases abroad of 
many kinds of military supplies. Quantities 
of nitrate of soda, for instance, for the manu- 
facture of exj)losi\'es, were imported from 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



9 



Chile and stored. German manufactnrers 
of chemicals nsed in munitions were forbidden 
to export them. Railroads leading to France 
and Belgium, as well as to Russia, together 
with their equipment, were improved, so as 
to be ready for transportation of troops at 
a moment's notice. The navy was strength- 
ened in corresponding fashion. Austria- 
Hungary and Turkey, already imder the 
guidance of the Germans according to the 
Middle-Europe and Berlin-to-Bagdad proj- 
ects, were making similar improvements. 



that she could conquer the earth nation by 
nation." 

4. The War in 1914 

While Germany was making all these 
preparations so openly, she declared that they 
were for defense only, and other Unprepared- 
nations did not make them- ness of the 
selves ready for the. attack that Allies 
Germany was really planning. Perhaps 
France alone fully comprehended the situa- 



POPULATION 

50,000,000 100.000,000 150,000.000 



RUSSIA 

UNITED 
STATES--' 
GREAT 
BRITAIN- 
FRANCE--. 

ITALY 

RUMANIA.. 
BELGIUM.. 
PORTUGAL 
SERBIA... 



GERMANY. 

AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY- 
TURKEY._. 
BULGARIA 



174,099,600 
102,000,000 

.45,370,530 

39,601,509 
.35,597,784 
.-.7,600,000 
..7,600,000 
...6,000,000 
.-4.550,000 



^:^^:^»' 



%^m^'; 



.67,812,000 
.51,340,378 

.3 1,000,000 
...5,000,000 



i/f''>^f'>^iii^'^^^^:i^^.^^/:'^:^;i^^^ 



i^^,^iii^^^^ii^^:^ii^^^^^^^;ii^J^ 



ZZI^ 



". "" 1 



y^^^y^yyyyyyy^ 



'^yyyyyyyyy^yyyyyyyyyyyyy^yyyyyy.^ 



'^:^y^y-^^^^^^^^^^^^y:^^y^ 



iy^y-y-^^^^^ 



Fig. 7. 



In 1914 the Germans felt that their prepa- 
ration was complete. 

In an address delivered in Chicago, Sep- 
tember 14, 1917, Elihu Root, former United 
States Senator from New York, summed up 
the case as follows : 

" It now appears beyond the possibility 
of doubt that this war was made by Ger- 
many, pursuing a long and settled purpose. 
For many years she had been preparing to 
do exactly what she has done, with a thorough- 
ness, a perfection of plans, and a vastness of 
provision in men, munitions, and supplies 
never before equaled or approached in human 
history. She brought the war on when she 
chose, because she chose, in the belief 



tion. Yet her population (Fig. 7) and 
resources were much inferior to those of 
Germany. Likewise Russia's army, though 
large (Fig. 6), was inferior to Germany's 
army in training, equipment, and effective- 
ness. All of the nations now allied hoped 
still that war might be a\'oided. Conse- 
quently they did not prepare for war as 
completely as Germany did. 

Among the Great Powers of Europe that 
entered the war immediately, England had 
by far the smallest army and it was scat- 
tered widely over the earth. She had small 
supplies of munitions and few factories for 
making them. Her people had not believed 
that Germany would provoke a war. But 



10 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



she did have the ad\antage of a great na\y. 
In Fig. 8 compare the warship tonnage of 
*the several powers. Engkmd's navy has 
been her salvation. 

The event that immediately led to the 
war occurred in Austria near the Serbian 
How the border. On June 2<S, 1914, the 

war began lieir to the throne of x\nstria- 

Hungary, Archduke Francis FVrdinand, 
and his wife, were assassinated by Serbian 



" Across the i)ath of this railway to Bagdad 
lay Serbia — an independent country whose 
sovereign alone among those of southwestern 
Europe had no marriage connection with 
Berlin, a Serbia that looked toward Russia. 
That is why Europe was nearly driven into 
war in 1913 ; that is why Germany stood 
so determinedly l)ehind Austria's demands 
in 1914 and forced war. She must have 
her 'corridor' to the southeast; she must 



WARSHIP TONNAGE JANUARY 1914 

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 



2,000,000 



GREAT 
BRITAIN 

UNITED 

STATES 

FRANCE 

RUSSIA.. 

ITALY.., 

JAPAN.. 



GERMANY. 
AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY- 

TURKEY.... 



2,200,000 

774,353 

.. 700,000 
...270,861 
..285,460 
... 519,640 



■^^^^^i^^^i^^ii^i^^^^^i^^^^^^^^^^^iii^^^^. 



951,713 
221,526 

.30,000 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 




z>nn3 



yy^^;^^^^^:^^^^^^:^:^^^^^^^^ 



Fig. 8. 



sympathizers. Bad feeling already existed 
between Austria and Serbia, and this deed 
naturally made it worse. 

One reason for the bad feeling was that 
Serbia was hostile to the Middle-Europe 
plan, and was, therefore, opposed to the 
Berlin-to-Bagdad railway, which would have 
to pass through its territory (Fig. 5). That 
was an unpardonable offense against Ger- 
many and her allies. 

Feeling that they were fully read\ for 
war, the Central Powers now saw the excuse 
for beginning it. As punishment for the 
murder of the Archduke Austria, with the full 
support of (icrmany, made demands on 
Serbia that were altogether too humiliating 
for acceptance. Then, \\lien Serbia rejected 
them, war was declared. 

The responsibility of Germany in the 
whole matter is stated by President Wilson, 
in his Flag Day Address of 1917, in the 
following words : 



have political domination all along the route 
of the great economic empire she planned." 

The first great object of the Central Powers 
was to conquer F'rance, and they hoped to 
accomplish that feat before ^j^^ ^^ j^ 
Russia, on their east, could the west 
strike an effective blow. _ . 

I. Reasons for 
In order to do this they must entering 
capture Paris. The shortest prance through 

If r^ n • Belgium 

distance from (rermany to Pans 

is only 170 miles, west from Met/> (Fig. 11). 
But whether one api)roaclies Paris from the 
cast or northeast, the route is difhcult on 
account of the rough surface. This map 
shows a series of hills ruiniing in a general 
northern and soutlicrn direction between the 
Paris basin and the GcM'inan frontier. On 
the side toward Paris these hills have long, 
gentle sloj:es, but on the eastern side they 
have steep slopes that are hard to climb. 
The rivers run between these ranges of hills 
and in some places cut their way through 




11 



12 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



them. If one followtxl their courses, one 
could find a comparatively easy road. But 
tfieir valleys are narrow, with steep sides in 
some places, and these can be easily defended 
against a powerful enemy. 

There is only one route that is compara- 
tively le\el land all the way, and that route 
leads through Belgium and then down south- 
west near the coast toward Paris. This is 
the route that the Teutons chose. It is 



only to save time, but also to enrich them- 
selves greatly while taking from their enemies 
the means of carrying on the war. For these 
reasons their choice must have seemed to 
them a masterly one. 

There were most vital reasons, however, 
against this selection. Germany ^ Reasons 
had pledged herself by solemn against entering 
agreement to respect the neu- ^ 
trality of Belgium, and if there was any sense 




l'i<;. UJ. — ■ French troops on the way to the front. 



© Underwood and Underwood 



longer than any other, being 250 miles, but 
it is the easiest way on account of the level 
ground over which it passes. 

There is another reason that no doubt 
influenced this choice. Belgium is a re- 
markably fertile country ; also, southern 
Belgium and northern France are, together, 
one of the richest mining and manufacturing 
regions in the world. France obtains from 
this section nine-tenths of her iron ore, as 
well as half of all her coal. Much more 
than one-half of all her iron and steel fac- 
tories are located here. In choosing this 
route, therefore, the Teutons could hoi)e not 



of honor in her she would keep this pledge. 
Also England had bound herself to protect 
the neutrality of Belgium ; so it was likely 
that she would declare war against the Teu- 
tons if they crossed the Belgian frontier. 
But honor counted little with the Germans 
when such advantages were involved, and 
England's army was so small that the war 
might be finished before it could be made to 
count. So Belgium had to suffer. 

This invasion of Belgium by (Germany, 
contrary to her own pledge, was an act of 
tremendous significance for all the nations 
of the earth, particularly for the small ones. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



13 




Fiii. 11. — The approaches to Paris from tlie east, and northeast. 



It was really a declaration that the small 
nation must expect to suffer in the future. 
.. Importance flight, not Right, was to rule ; 



of Germany's 
act 



and any people that lacked 
the physical force to protect 
itself against attack might expect to be 
subdued and governed by stronger nations. 
Never was a more direct blow struck against 
liberty. 

The Germans had planned to march a 
certain distance each day, and allowed them- 
selves six days to get past Belgium. They 
did not expect the Belgians to have the cour- 
age to try to stop them. 

At the start, though, there was a delay. 
When the army appeared at the frontier of 
the little countrv, the German commander 



informed its people that it was necessary 
for his army to cross, but that the Belgians 
would not be injured if they did not resist, 
and that they would be paid in gold for any 
damage that might be done. 

To his astonishment they refused. This 
was their reply : " The Belgian government, 
if they were to accept the proposals submitted 
to them, would sacrifice the honor of the 
nation ami betray their duty toward Europe." 
King Albert did not hesitate. He threw his 
small army across the German path, even 
though it meant destruction for both army 
and people, and he delayed their advance 
ten full days. The Germans were furious 
and inflicted on Belgium awful punishment. 

The ten days, however, saved France. It 



14 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



gave the French time to assemble their 

armies and the English time to send a small 

• . _, force to their aid. Also, this 

4. Importance 

of Belgium's re- act of the Belgians aroused the 
sistance admiration of the world; it 

was as noble as the conduct of the Ger- 
mans was ignoble, and it drew to them 




Fici. 12. 



British Official Pliutuyiapli 
British troops entreiiclied on tho westorii fi-ont. 



the su}){)ort of fair-minded people every- 
where for the awful years that ha\(' 
followed. 

The Germans soon left Belgiiun behind 
and came within sight of Paris. Figure 11 
shows the line that they held when nearest 
to the city. Estimate the distance. The 
French government had left the capital, on 
account of the imminent danger, and moved 
to Bordeaux. It looked as though the city 
would have to fall. 

But the furious battle of the Marne 
turned the invaders back, and the line that 



they finally had to take at the end of the 
year's fighting is also shown in Fig. 11. 
This was one of the great bat- 5, The result 
ties of history. For the time of the campaign 
being, at least, it decided that France should 
remain French and not become Prussian. 
Germany did not succeed in crushing 
France before Russia could 
act. On the The war in 
contrary, Hus- the east 
sia assembled a great army 
and invaded East Prussia. 
In order to meet this at- 
tack Germany was compelled 
to withdraw some of her 
forces from France. This 
helped to check the Germans 
on the ^larne. Russia also 
invaded Austria, and thus 
she kept the Teutons ex- 
ceed ingl\' busy on the eastern 
front. Figure 13 shows the 
lines held in the east toward 
the end of 1914. 

The superiority of the 
British navy (Fig. 8) was im- 
mediately made The war upon 
to count. By the seas 
the end of the year the 
German fleets, war and mer- 
chant, were dri\'en from the 
seas. When it is recalled 
that three fourths of the 
earth's surface is water, the importance of 
this advantage begins to be apparent. All 
this area was at the disposal of the British 
for transporting supplies, as well as troops 
from her colonies ; at the same time it was 
closed to Germany. 

5. The War in 1915 

The campaign of 1914 had proved en- 
couraging to the Allies on the Discourage- 
whole; but there were many mentstothe 
reasons for discouragement ^^^^^ 
during the year 1915. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



15 



Several attcnipts were made to drive 
the Germans from their position in the 

1. On the west, l)ut without much suc- 
western front ^-pgy ^he Une of battle re- 
mained throughout the year much the same 
as shown in Fig. 11. 

In the east the Russians were badly de- 
feated. Figure 13 

2. On the east- shows 
era front h O W 

far into German 
and Austrian ter- 
ritory they had 
advanced in 1914. 
But this year they 
were driven out of 
this conquered ter- 
ritory and lost ex- 
tensive areas of 
their own. All 
Poland was taken 
from them, includ- 
ing the great cities 
of Warsaw and 
Lodz, and they lost 
over 2,000,000 men 
in captured, killed, 
and w o u n d e d . 
Figure 15 marks 
the line of battle 
in the closing days 
of the year. 

Turkey (p. 40) 
h a d j o i n e d the 
Central Powers in 
1914, but the Fig. 

Balkan States, lying 

3 Advance of 'between Turkey and Austria, 
the Beriin-to- had uot, with the exception of 
ag a p.an. .Serbia, declared in favor of 
either side. Under those conflitions, and 
with Serbia one of the Allies, both the ]\Iiddle- 
Europe project and that for the Berlin-to- 
Bagdad railway were blocked. 

In order to check them still further, the 
Allies planned an expedition against the 



EASTERN BATTLE FROM 
1914 

FurtJiest Advance uf Russians ■■■■■ 
Eastern Front at clvae of 1914 ^bm 

SCALE OF MILES 




Dardanelles, with the object of getting 
possession of this outlet from the Black 
Sea and capturing Constantinople. In spite 
of great efforts it resulted only in failure 
and enormous losses of men. 

It had other bad effects. Bulgaria had 
hesitated to ally herself with either party; 

but now she felt it 
safe to join the 
Teutons. Then the 
Austro- Germans 
and Bulgarians to- 
gether overran 
Serbia and crushed 
that nation. These 
events brought the 
Middle-Europe 
plan to much 
nearer realization, 
and paved the way 
for further devel- 
opment of the great 
Bagdad railway. 
The Central Pow- 
ers had good reason 
to feel encouraged. 
Even in war, 
horrible as it is, 
there are many 
rules German 
t()l)e barbarities 

followefl to which 
all the leading 
go\'ernments have 
agreed. These 
13. rules were sup- 

posed to hav^e force 
of law for the various nations and to limit 
its evils in important ways. 

While Germany had fully agreed to these 
laws she has shown no more respect for 
them than she showed for her agreement 
in regard to Belgium. Here are only a few 
of the things she has done in violation of 
international law : she has repeatedly 
massacred men, women, and children, ap- 



16 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



pareutly with the main object of making 
herself feared; she has robbed conquered 
•territory of food, raw materials for manu- 
factures, tools, machinery, and anything 




Fig. 14. 



British Official Photograph 
One of the giant dirigibles guarding the British coast. 



else she could lay her hands on, that, after re- 
moval to her own land, might be of value 
to her own people ; what she could not hope 
to use she has wantonly destroyed, simply 
in order to leave citizens in conquered 
territory as destitute as ])ossible. For ex- 
anii)le, to that end she has even killed or- 
chard after orchard of fruit trees and has set 
fire to houses and farm implements. Tens 
of thousands of civilians in Belgium, Poland, 
and elsewhere have been transported to 
Teuton lands to work as slaves ; men, women, 
and children have been placed in front of the 
firing line in order to protect the Teuton 
soldiers ; poison gas and liquid fire have been 
introduced. ProbaV)ly every international 
law to which Germany had agreed has been 
broken by her repeatedly. It is well for us 
to know such facts in order that we ma\' 
understiind the kind of enemy we are fighting. 



In 1915 there occurred some events that 
brought much encouragement. One was the 
entrance of Italy on the side of 

the Allies. In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 ^^^^'^^^ ^^'^ 

. . encourage- 

notice her popula- ment among 

tion as compared the Allies 

with that of other i. Entry of 

countries ; also the ^}f}y »" ^'^^ o^ 

Allies 

size of her army 
and her warship tonnage. The 
fact that she produces very little 
coal and iron greatly reduces 
her strength ; but in spite of 
that fact she has brought very 
valuable help. 

As soon as she lost all control 
of the seas, Germany had to 
leave her colonies ^ ^oss of 
to their fate. One colonies by 
of the first to be ^"'""'^y 
taken was Kiau-Chau (Fig. l),by 
Japan. Germany had highly 
valued this colony. Other islands 
in the Pacific were soon lost. By 
the end of 1915 all the four large 
German colonies in Africa had 
been invaded and most of their territory 
conquered. Germany has no colonies now. 
When England declared war, she naturally 
expected the supjjort of all her English colo- 
nies. This supi)ort was of very ^ Royalty of 
great importance, for these British colo- 
colonies constitute a large part 
of the British Empire. The " Mother 
Gountry," called the " United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland," includes Eng- 
land, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. It has 
an area all together of only al)out 12{),()00 
square miles, which is less than one half that 
of Texas; its i)opulation is more than 
45,()()(),()()(), which is over ten times that of 
Texas. Compared with the rnited States 
the Inited Kingdom is a small coimtry, both 
in size and population (Fig. 7). How does it 
compare with Germany ? 

When the colonies are added, however, the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



17 



Empire is eiiornioiis. On Fi<>;. 1 note how 
many parts of the earth belong to the British 
Empire. Its possessions are found in every 
continent and border every ocean. In North 
(1) Extent of America they are Canada and 
the colonies Newfoundland. Name the 
most important parts of Asia that are British 
possessions ; of Africa. What other 
important regions are British? Note 
the population of India ; of Canada ; 
of Australia (main text, pp. 411, 412). 
All these possessions together increase 
the area under English control more 
than 12,000,000 square miles, and the 
population 450,000,000. It is evident 
that it made a very great difference to 
the British whether these dependencies 
supported them strongly in the conduct 
of the war or whether they refused 
support. 

Germany did not believe that Eng- 
land's colonies would respond vigor- 
, ously to the call from the 
expectation in Mother Country ; and she 
regard to their j^g^j strong rcasons for this 

loyalty . 

belier. 

Undoubtedly the Germans argued 
that if these possessions belonged to 
Germany, many of them would break 
away from German control at the first 
opportunity. Schleswig-Holstein has 
been a problem to the German govern- 
ment ever since its annexation ; and 
Alsace-Lorraine has caused far more 
trouble. There has probably never 
been a time since 1870 when the great 
majority of the inhabitants of Alsace- 
Lorraine would not have returned to French 
control, if they had had a chance to vote on 
the question. Germany has shown a re- 
markable tendency to iij'ouse the hatred of 
the foreign peoples whc^n she has gov^erned, 
and of course she would not admit that 
England possessed any more skill than she 
herself had shown in governing colonies. 

The long distance of many of the dependen- 



cies from England made it especially difficult 
for them to keep in close touch with the 
Mother Country. Difference in language 
and customs in many cases would cause her 
influence to be felt still less. In such cir- 
cumstances it seemed hardly probable that 
a war that she declared would lead them 




Fig. 15. 

to share fully with her in hardship and 
danger. 

Aside from such reasons for disloyalty, Ger- 
many proposed to supply one herself. She 
set to work, even before the war, to stir up 
discontent among many of the colonies. 
Furnished with large sums of money, men 
were sent who gave their best efforts toward 
stirring up in the colonies ill feeling toward 



18 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



the English and aiding any movements that 
might lead to disloyalty and rebellion. This 
• seems an easy task, too, when one remembers 
that in any country there are many persons 
who grumble against the government. The 
fact that not many years ago England had 
been at war with some of her colonists, 
especially those in South Africa, ga\'e hope of 
great success in this attempt. Germans have 
been employed to stir up trouble in this man- 
ner in probably every one of the British colo- 
nies of importance. The ambition was not 
merely to prevent aid to the British but to 
compel the British to consume much of their 
strength in quelling rebellion among their colo- 
nies. Indeed, by that means they hoped that 
England would be so fully occupied that she 
would have little energy left for fighting the 
Germans. 

To the astonishment of the Germans their 

plan did not work. The British Empire did 

not fall apart. Of the scores and 

(3) Their re- 

sponse to the scorcs of colonics, big and little, 
call of the Yiot ouc has declared its inde- 

Mother Country . r\ ,^ 

pendence. On the contrary, 
their loyalty has astonished the world. Not 
only have they remained friendly ; they have 
joined actively in the prosecution of the war, 
furnishing men, money, and supplies to the 
fullest extent possible. The war against 
Turkey has been very greatly aided by sol- 
diers from India. Canada has sent to the 
battle fields about a half million men — an 
undertaking greater than it would be for us 
to send six millions. Australia and New Zea- 
land have done correspondingly well. Even 
the small islands have been eager to do their 
bit. Early in 1916 Jamaica, with a popula- 
tion of less than one million, sent her second 
ship load, consisting of about eleven himdred 
men. 

No one had known before how loosely the 
many parts of the British Empire were put 
together. No one had known whether, at 
a great crisis, the Empire would crumble, 
each division of people to form an independ- 



ent nation ; or whether its parts would unite 
more closely than ever to form one more 
powerful nation. The response of the colo- 
nies has answered this question. 

No doul)t one reason for this result was the 
sense of danger that the dependencies felt 
w^hen Germany declared that (4) Reasons for 
Might rather than Right should ""* ''^■'^«'^^ 
rule the world. Independent small nations 
in that case had little chance ; they must ally 
themselves with others in order to be pro- 
tected. This danger, then, tended to unite 
them and to draw them to the more powerful 
Mother Country. 

Yet they would hardly have responded so 
willingly to the call, had they not in past years 
been treated with respect by the United 
Kingdom ; had they not been gi^'en freedom 
to a large extent ; and had they not been well 
protected as British subjects when protection 
was needed. The occasion was a test of the 
kind of government Britain had established 
over her colonies ; and — to the disgust of 
Germany — she stood the test astonishingly 
well. 

The greatness of the cause must ha\e been 
a third reason for this response. The war at 
first may have seemed remote to some of the 
colonies, but they soon saw that Germany 
was threatening the existence of democracy 
throughout the world. The only hope that 
men will ever enjoy the right to govern them- 
selves in peace lies in the destruction of mili- 
tarism. The war, therefore, concerned them 
directly and they must share in the struggle. 

The exhibition of loyalty by the British 
colonies was one of the especially encouraging 
facts in the midst of the many discourage- 
ments of the year 1915. 

6. The War in 1916 

In the west two great battles were fought : 
Verdun and the Somme, each lasting several 
months and resulting in defeat to the Ger- 
mans with enormous losses of men. The 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



19 



lines, however, as drawn in Figs. 11, 13, 
were not greatly changed. The Russians 
Events on the ^^^^^ Italians were also success- 
east and west ful in opposing the Austrians. 
fronts ^jjg balance of the fighting 

was, therefore, favorable to the Allies. 
Roumania, how- 
who 



ter defend. Compare the line in Fig. 18 
with that in Fig. 11. In this region the 
Allies in heavy battles won other On the west- 
\'ictories that were of much ern front 
importance. Yet no decisive results were 
reached on this front during the year. 



ever, 

Further prog- 
ress of the 
Middle- 
Europe and 
Bagdad Rail- 
way plans 



had en- 

t e r e d 

the war 

on the 

side of 

the Al- 
lies, was conquered. 
Her rich "w^heat fields 
and oil wells were 
taken. She made 
the third Balkan 
State that had been 
added to Teuton 
territory since the 
war began. This 
addition brought the 
Middle-Europe plan 
almost to full reali- 
zation. Greece alone 
remained neutral. 
The war was bring- 
ing ,its reward. 

Events in Turkey 
also advanced the railway project. A con- 
siderable British force from India had 
marched up the Tigris River toward Bagdad 
(Fig. 5), winning some victories on the way. 
But they were surrounded by the Turks and 
finally compelled to surrender. The force 
that was lost consisted of 13,000 men. The 
main part of the railroad that remained to 
be built was in this region, and this victory 
brought the possibility of its completion 
much nearer. 

7. The War in 1917 

The Germans in France, early in the year, 
retreated a considerable distance along a fifty- 
mile front to. positions that they could bet- 




Fia. 16. — British armored "tank 



British Official Photograph 

" passing through a burning village on the way to the 
front in France.) 



Russia sprang a surprise on the world in 
1917, a surprise whose results for good and 
evil are thus far vast but un- On the Rus- 
certain. First came the revolu- sian front 
tion early in the year, the Czar abdicat- 
ing in March and the government being 
taken over by a moderately liberal party. 
Finally a very radical party, called the Bol- 
sheviki, obtained control. They ignored all 
obligation to the Allies, completely under- 
mined army discipline, and made a separate 
peace with Germany. Although up to 
1917 Russia had fought hard and suffered 
fearfully on the side of the Allies, she now 
withdrew from the war. From this year 
on, therefore, the line of battle in this part 



20 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




Fig. 17. 



of the oast, as indicated in Fi^. 18, entirely 
disappeared. This with(h-awal was a most 
severe l)low to the AUies, for the Germans 
l)ef<;an not only to overrun Russian territory 
at will, hut also to transport their troops that 
were not needed in this reoion to other battle 
lines. 

This act of Russia had a fearful effect in 
On the Italian northern Italy. On that line 
^^^^^ enormous Austrian forces, many 

of them brought from Russia, were as- 



sembled and hurled against Italy. That 
coimtry suffered terrible losses and the 
work she had accomplished during the pre- 
ceding two years was undone. 

During 1917 the Allies more than re- 
trieved their recent losses in Checks to 
the Tigris valley. Early in the theMiddle"- 
1, 1 1 " J. ] 1 Europe and 

year Bagdad was captured by the Bagdad 

the British and most of Pales- Railway pro- 
tine also was taken from the J^cts 
Turks. Jerusalem was surrendered to the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



21 



British early in December of this year. 
It began to look now as though the Teutons 
would never extend their railroad to Bagdad 
and the Persian Gulf, and without the ad- 
dition of this section the whole scheme lost 
its value. 

At the same time a blow was struck against 
the Middle-Europe plan. The one remaining 
neutral power among the 
Balkan States was 
Greece. Its ruler, King 
Constantine, was vio- 
lently pro-German, while 
a majority of the Greeks 
favored the Allies. Dur- 
ing this year Constantine 
was deposed and Greece 
joined the Allies (p. 40). 

This was surely a deep 
disappointment to the' 
Teutons. The location 
of Greece as an Allied 
power, so close to the 
Serbians, who were still 
hostile to the Teutons 
even though conquered, 
and so near to the rail- 
way, might cause strong 
opposition to both proj- 
ects at any time. 

This was the year in 

which the submarine 

reached its greatest de- 

^ ,, structiveness. Up to the first 

On the seas » , . • i i i 

of this year it had been active 

and, together with mines, had destroyed 
nearly 4,000,000 tons of merchant shipping. 
This was only a small part of the entire 
British merchant marine. 

But up to this time a great many vessels 
had been spared from attack. Now on Feb- 
ruary 1, 1917, the plan of unlimited cruelty was 
adopted ; the use of the submarine was freed 
from restrictions and any vessels were attacked 
and sunk without warning, no matter what 
nation they represented or who was on them. 



The civilized world gasjx'd at such frightful- 
ncss ; but it was believed by the Germans 
to be a sure means of winning the war, 
and that was what they sought. Interna- 
tional law did not count with them. 

The German people were assured by their 
leaders that such use of the submarine would 
bring the English to their knees in a few 




P'iG. IS. 



(c) I'nili riniiid mid I'ndcrwood 

A convoy of ships carrying food and supplies to the Allies. 



months. The latter had to receive much of 
their food, ammunition, and other suj)plies 
from abroad, and Germany thought that 
the submarine would cut off all such aid. 
With England out of the war, it would 
soon end. 

From January to June they sank 3,000,000 
tons of shipping. It was a critical prriod for 
the Allies. But means for protection against 
the submarine were developed and its de- 
structiveness began to decline. England 
was not starved out and the crisis is past. 
The policy of frightfulne«s, however, had 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



23 



unfavorable consequences for the Germans, 
which they, no doubt, appreciate now far 
more than they did then. 

8. Additions to the Allied Nations 

During 1917 eight new countries, repre- 
senting all parts of the earth, entered 
New enemies the war against Germany, 
to the Teutons while not a single new power 
joined the Teutons. In Fig. 19 note their 



It meant that it took all this time for 
these nations to grasp the situation ; to 
comprehend the objects of the Teutons, and 
to realize the methods they were adopting 
in pursuit of these objects. 

They had been astounded at the absence 
of all sense of honor on the part of Germany 
when she invaded Belgium and declared 
her contract to respect its neutrality only 
a " scrap of paper." They had been horrified 
at her brutality toward the Belgians and 




Fig. 20. — British camp in western France where officers are trained in modern warfare. 



names and locations. How many continents 
do they represent? On page 40 there is a 
list of these powers with the dates on which 
war was declared. Note these dates. 

Originally it was generally expected that 
the war would last only a few months. 
Their reasons ^^o^^' a^ter two and one half 
for entering years of awful fighting, these 
the war onlookers determined to assist 

in blocking the Teutons, no matter how 
fearful the sacrifices might be. Why did 
they take such risk, and all on one side? 
What did it mean? 



other conquered peoples. They had been 
shocked at her selfishness and greed in 
robbing conquered territory. When the 
LusHania was sunk, destroying 1198 lives, 
114 of them American, they saw that she 
was inconceivably cruel. When, therefore, 
her plots and conspiracies began to be un- 
covered in all parts of the world, they realized 
that she was wholly unworthy of trust. 
The significance of Pan-Germanism had 
now been made clear ; and it menaced the 
liberties of the world. It was, therefore, the 
duty of all nations to combine to put it down. 



24 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



9. The United States in the War 

^ The (U'clitratioii of war h\ the United States 

meant a <;reat addition to the forces of the 

r. Allies. Our population is over 

Our resources ^ * ^ 

compared with lOO.OOO.OOO, while that of Ger- 
those of Ger- „iaiiy is less than 7(),()()(),()()(). 
™*"^ In area we are far superior to 

Germany, since we have over 3,000,000 scjuare 
miles, while she has only 210,000, which is 




© Underwood and Underwood 
Fig. 21. — Dis(ributing equipment at the Officens' Training Camp, Plattsburg, N. Y. 

much less than that of Texas alone. In raw 
materials, manufactures, and wealth our su- 
periority o\er Germany is also striking. We 
produce nearly twice as much coal and iron as 
Germany, we manufacture more than twice 
as many goods and oiu' total wealth is about 
three times hers. 

In spite of these facts Germany showed con- 
Why Ger- tempt for us as a possible en- 
many did not emy. Why ? 
fear us First of all, because as a 
people we are remarkably devoted to 



peace. At the time we declared war oiu* 
standing army was composed of only about 
100,000 men (sec Fig. (i), a very small 
inunbcr when com])ared with the S6(i,000 in 
the Cierman standing army. Beyond this 
ninnber, we had \ery few trained soldiers, 
while every able-bodied man in Germany had 
received extensi\e training. On the other 
hand, peace societies were ninnerous and ac- 
tive throughout the land, m-ging the avoid- 
ance of all war, 
and some influ- 
ential j)ersons had 
reached the point 
where they op- 
posed allowing 
children even to 
play with tin sol- 
diers because it 
directed their 
t h o u g h t s t o o 
nuich to fighting. 
As a nation we 
knew that we 
would provoke no 
war; and up to 
that time we were 
convinced that no 
one was likely to 
attack us. In 
short, we cher- 
ished the hope 
and expectation 
that all war w^ould 
be avoided by us in the future. 

This condition made us harmless in the 
eyes of the (rcrmans. Also, they saw that 
even if we were awakened from our dreams 
about peace, it would be a long time before 
we could be ready to fight. We lacked not 
only soldiers, but officers as well ; also an 
adequate supply of munitions ; indeed, we 
were without the thousand and one things 
that Germany had been carefully provid- 
ing during the last fifty years. No one 
understood better than she what a mighty 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



25 



task it would be 
for us to get 
ready to fight. 

Even if \v e 
ever finally pre- 
pared ourselves, 
the field for fight- 
ing was at least 
3()0() miles away, 
and we lacked 
the s h i J) s for 
transporting our 
men and their 
supplies. INTore 
than that, if by 
some miracle 
these were pro- 
vided, the subma- 
rine would pre- 
vent their arri^'ing on the other side. When all 
these points are considered, certainly the Ger- 
mans had much reason for feeling safe from us. 





Fig. 



Alabamti, where now munitions of war are made. 



Fiu. 22. — Building "Liberty Ships" on Puget Sound. 



Geography constantly deals with the seven 
great occupations of men ; namely, agricul- 
ture, fishing, lumbering, mining, Qur new 
m a n u f a c - occupation 
t u r i n 2: ^^^ *^^ extent 
transportation, and 
trade. Our declaration 
of war on April 6, 1917, 
added another, that of 
carrying on war. This 
has gradually become 
the greatest of the eight, 
and one that to a large 
degree controls all the 
others. That is a very 
remarkable fact, when it 
is remembered that only 
a few years ago we com- 
monly believed that we 
could avoid war. It 
shows how quickly and 
completely a great na- 
tion can change. 

The great extent of 
this occupation is sug- 
gested by a very few 
facts. In the latter part 



I Underwood and Underwood 
23. — One view of the steel works at Ensley, just outside of Birmingham, 



26 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




Fig. 24. — Military map 



of the summer of 1918 we had over' 3,000,000 
men in France or in training at home. It has 
been often stated that it takes seven or eight 



workers at home to keep one soldier in the 
field — so many kinds of work are necessary ; 
such, for example, as farming, mining, manu- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



27 




of the United States. 



facture of clothing, munitions, ships, etc., to 
meet all military needs. If that statement is 
correct, it would mean that these 3,000,000 



are keeping not less than 20,000,000 others 
fully employed. The center for this great 
business is our capital, Washington, and prob- 



28 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



ably many more than 100,000 clerks and other 
government employees have been called there 
^nce the war began. The city has accord- 
ingly increased tremendonsly in poi)ulation. 



possible upon difi'erent communities. It was 
a question whether such a plan would be 
accei)table to the ])eople, and during the de- 
bate in Congress signs were not lacking that 




Underwood and Underwood 
Fig. 25. — Training soldiers at Ciiuip Upton, Yapank, Long Island, N. Y. 



Other government work connected with the 
war is carried on in hundreds of places 
throughout the country. 

The conduct of war calls for undertakings 
of many kinds, each of which may be a great 
Our prepara- Inisiness in itself. One of these 
tion of an was the j)reparation of an 

^^^y army. Our first step was to call 

for volunteer soldiers, and within a few 
months these troops, together with those that 
we already had, made an army of a million 
men. Many <»f these were already well 
trained for war. 

Meanwhile it was clear, howe\'er, that se\'- 
eral millions would be needed if we took the 
]iart in the war that belonged to us ; also that 
it would not do to wait for voluntary enlist- 
ments. The President proposed to raise the 
necessary men by " selective draft " or con- 
scription. By that means the burden of the 
fighting would be distributed as equally as 



German influence was at work to defeat the 
plan. 

Yet the bill became a law, and all men 
between the ages of twenty-one and thirty- 
one were required to enroll for service on a 
given date. Ten million young men re- 
sponded. Since all these were not needed at 
once, it was decided to determine by lot the 
order in which the men should be colled. 
The men were also divided into classes ac- 
cording to conditions that deserved con- 
sideration in accepting or exempting them. 
Thus a vast army has been drafted. 

The training of so many soldiers was a 
great problem. Nearly all of them were 
without military experience, having come 
directl>' from farm, factory, and office. They 
were assigned to camps or cantonments in 
many parts of the country, as shown in 
Fig. '24. 

Each cantonment is really a new city de- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



29 



signed to be the teiii- 
porary home of 
about 40,000 men in 
training. It is 
equipped with most 
of the conveniences 
of any city, having, 
for example, a water 
system, sewage sys- 
tem, electric lights, 
telephone, fire de- 
partment, and e^'en 
paved streets. As 
shown on the map, fig. 26 
sixteen of these can- 
tonments were established during the sum- 
mer of 1917 for the drafted men. Many 
other cantonments were built for the men 
who belonged to the National Guard, which 
had been taken into the service before the 
conscription act was passed. Thousands 
upon thousands of engineers, carpenters, 
plumbers, and other workers, besides vast 
quantities of lumber and other materials, 




Underwood and Underwood 
View of an army cantonment on the historic field of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 



were necessary for all this consti'uction in so 
sliort a time. 

Our navy was in far better condition for a 
great war than our army. In Fig. 8 note 
how it ranked among the navies Development 
of the Great Powers. of our navy 

At the time of our entrance into the war 
the Allied navies of Great Britain, France, 
Italy, and Japan were masters on the ocean. 
German warships, mer- 
chant vessels, and raiders 
had been driven from it. 
But the German sub- 
marine, which had done 
much damage since the 
beginning of the war, 
had been declared by 
the German government 
on January' 31, 1017, to 
l)e free from all restric- 
tions, and it was proving 
fearfully destructive to 
Allied vessels. At that 
time the Germans gen- 
erally relied upon it to 
bring victory. 

It was our task, there- 
fore, to construct more 
war vessels, as many as 
we possibly could ; and 
to increase verv wreath 




FiQ. 27. — A United States Warship using^a smoke screen in the "danger zone 



30 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




I Underwood and Underwood 
FiG; 28. — A sham battle at Pelham Bay Naval Training camp, Pelham Bay, N. Y. 



Building of 
army trans- 
ports and a 
merchant 
marine 



these purposes; 
and, since many 
ships were being 
sunk e\'ery week 
hy submarines, 
a still ^J'^^ter 
number would 
have to be built 
in order to meet 
this loss. 

Such vessels 
as these, used 
for • transporta- 
tion of goods in 
time of peace, 
are called " mer- 
chant marine." 
At the time war 
was declared by 
us our merchant marine on the ocean was 
small. While we had had a great foreign 
trade, nine tenths of our imports and ex- 
ports had been carried in ships owned by 
foreign countries. That was not all. We 
lacked the equipment, such as the shipyards, 
machinery, and trained workmen, necessary 
for building a great number of ships. Also, 



the number of naval officers and men. This 
task, like that of preparing a vast army, has 
l)een accomplished with remarkable success. 
The purpose of the navy is to destroy the 
enemy submarines and to afl'ord j^roteetion 

in other ways. In addition to 

war vessels it was seen that we 

^vould need a vast number of 

other ships 

for trans- 
portation of all sorts of 
things to Eiu'ope. Sev- 
eral million soldiers 
would need to be taken 
over ; food for them 
would have to be sup- 
plied by us, too; also 
clothing, ammunition, 
horses, engines, and hun- 
dreds of other articles. 
In addition great quan- 
tities of food would need 
to be sent to om- Allies, 
since they could not 
meet all their own wants. 
Thousands of vessels 

would be required lor Fig. 29. — Launching a steer Liberty Ship," shipbuilding yards, Mobile, Alabama 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



31 



ships like great buiklings can be built only 
very slowly. 

There were many difficulties to be over- 
come here ; and our progress at first was 
very slow. We could not hope to accomplish 
much during 1917; it took time to get the 
work started. In the spring of 1918, how- 
ever, results began to appear ; dozens of 
vessels per month began to be laiuiched, and 
then as many per week. In one day, July 4, 
almost one hundred were launched. The 
number continues to increase at an astonish- 



numbers. Millions of shoes, blankets, uni- 
forms, and hats have had to be made. To 
meet all such requirements hundreds of fac- 
tories have abandoned their regular work 
and have undertaken some of these things. 
Thus one sees how great a business war may 
be ; it can demand a large share of the efforts 
of the nation. 

High officials in Germany had promised 
their people that even if the Transporta- 
United States raised a great tion of troops 
army and secured vessels for its transporta- 




Undertvood and Udderwood 



Fig. 30. — A giant American built airplane, used for bombing purposes. 



ing rate, and now the new vessels built by our 
Allies and ourselves each month far exceed 
those destroyed. By our astonishing energy 
the point of safety has been reached in ship- 
building. 

Upon the declaration of war our govern- 
ment at once began preparations for the ex- 
tensive manufacture of muni- 
tions and other articles neces- 
sary in war. Rifles, machine 
guns, cannon, and powder had to 
be pro^'ided in enormous quantities. For this 
purpose manufacturing centers have been 
developed that are cities in themselves, given 
up wholly to this one kind of work. Air- 
planes, motor-trucks, armored cars, and trans- 
port wagons have had to be produced in vast 



Manufacture 
of munitions 
and equip- 
ment 



tion, it would never be allowed to reach 
France. There was much doubt among us, 
too, about the success we should attain in 
transporting large numbers of men . The first 
troops were sent over in May, 1917. The 
number that followed from month to month 
was watched by us and our Allies — and 
probably by the Germans also — with great 
anxiety. There were transported in 



May, 1917 


1,718 


.January, 


1918 


46,776 


.June 


12,261 


February 




48,027 


July 


12,988 


March 




83,811 


August 


18,323 


April 




117,212 


September 


32,523 


May 




244,345 


October 


38,259 


June 




276,372 


November 


23,016 


July 


over 300,000 


December 


48,840 


August 


about 250,000 



32 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Many of the Geriiuuis have foiuul it difli- 
cult to believe these figures ; and even to us 
ihey are wonderful. Transportation of people 
on any such scale upon the ocean has never 
before been accomplished. 

It should be remembered, too, that danger 
in the form of submarines lurked about the 




Fig. .31. — .Ainerifaii troops disembarkiii;^ at 

transporting \'essels at every moment. Yet 
])ractically not a man has been lost on the 
way to Europe. By the aid of our allied 
na^'ies and our own the vessels have been 
protected on all sides. The courage and en- 
durance of the men in these navies will be 
admired in all time to come. 

Tn order to ])r()vide sjjace on shipboard for 
so many soldiers, especially in the recent 
months, the partitions of some of the vessels 
were removed and all ])ossible space suited 
for bunks was utilized. The soldiers slept 
in shifts, each of three shifts occupying the 



bunks eight hours. It is plahi that the beds 
were kept very busy. 

Upon declaration of war German vessels 
in American ports were seized and have 
been used in transport service. The larg- 
est transport of all is the Leviaihan, formerly 
called the I'aierland, which sailed between 

Hamburg and New 
York. 

Provision of food 
for our Allies, par- 
ticularly the English 
a n d French, is 
another undertaking 
that has called for 
much planning and 
1 a u 01 Qyj. provision 
on our of food for 
D a r t ^^^ Allies 
The British are a 
manufacturing na- 
tion, relying upon 
imports from other 
countries for much 
of their food. Be- 
fore the war the 
want of such imports 
for e\'en a few weeks 
would have caused 
much suffering. 

Since the war be- 
gan, large areas that 
were formerly 
wooded and were parts of large estates and 
])arks have been brought under cultivation. 
With this improvement it is said that the 
British can sui)ply enough food to last them 
at least eight months in the year. To supply 
the other third from aliroad, however, is no 
small task. 

Before the war P^rance was less dependent 
on imports for food, although she required a 
good deal. The war, howe\'er, has devas- 
tated a part of the land ; and, partl>' because 
so many of the men were engaged in fighting 
and partly because the soil has lacked fertili- 



Kadel and Herbert 
I port in France. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



33 



This need furnished an opportunity for 
every one to be patriotic by doing his bit, 
particularly by helping to produce more of 
various kinds of food and to consume less of 
those that were needed abroad. 

The success of our efforts is as gratifying 
in this case as in the others already men- 
tioned. Our average monthly export of beef 
before the war was 1,066,000 pounds; and 
of pork 41 ,531 ,000 pounds. In June, 1918, we 



zation, her crops have been unusually small. 
In November, 1917, the United States Food 
Administration stated that the 1917 wheat 
crop of France, as compared with that of 191.3, 
was short over one half or 176,000,000 
bushels ; that the potato crop was short 
about one third or 165,000,000 bushels ; that 
the sugar-beet crop was short over two 
thirds or 148,000,000 bushels ; that the num- 
ber of cattle had decreased one sixth per cent or 
2,435,000 head; 
that the number 
of sheep had de- 
creased over one 
third or 5,535,- 
000 head; and 
that the number 
of hogs had de- 
creased two 
fifths or 2,825,- 
000 head. Both 
the British and 
the French had 
to receive great 
quantities of 
food from abroad 
or give up fight- 
ing. 

Heretofore Fig. 32. — Women at Washington, D.C., learning to run a tractor in order to do farm work. 

these imports 

came largely from Canada, Australia, Argen- 
tina, and other agricultural countries. But 
ships were lacking for transportation of 
wheat all the way from Australia, and for 
several reasons many of these other countries 
have not been able to supply as much as 
usual. Thus it was that the United States 
was left to furnish it. 

Our country as well as England ranks high in 
manufacturing ; in fact the United States is the 
greatest manufacturing nation. Yet we pro- 
duce most of our food and have always exported 
some. Now it became necessary for us to ex- 
port far more. Wheat and meat were the things 
most needed ; and under Mr. Hoover's lead we 
set to work to secure enough to save our Allies. 




sent abroad 92,173,000 pounds of beef, and 
169,331,000 pounds of pork. Our export of 
wheat has likewise been tremendously in- 
creased. These are facts that have con- 
vinced our Allies — and the Germans, too — 
that we can be depended upon. 

Care of the wounded is another phase of 
war that has called for nuich planning and a 
great munber of workers. In Care of the 
ancient wars little pro\'ision was wounded 
made for those who were injured. They died 
from lack of care if their wounds were serious. 
Now, unless a wound is very serious, the man 
is expected to reco^'er and to return to the 
ranks. It is a matter of economy as well as 
humanitv to attend to him. 



34 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



The soldier is not only cared for when he 

is wounded, but is kept in health if pos- 

^sible. It is the business of doctors to be 

on the lookout for contagious diseases, to 

inspect drinking water, to w^atch over food. 



orphans and feeds refugees until they can 
care for themselves. 

Wars are now fought by citizen soldiers. 
If possible, they should come . . 

back home at the end of the ^he comfort 

war better and entertain- 



-^>^ 




Fig. 33. — Filing pledges to save food at the office of the 

mission, New York. 

and to see that camps are in a sanitary con- 
dition. 

The Red Cross Society is organized under 
supervision of the government to do much of 
this work. It has many doctors and trained 
nurses. Under them are assistants who bring 
the wounded to hospitals for treatment. 
They help the men with their mail and aid 
them in communicating with parents and 
friends. In the regions ruined by war the 
Society helps to look after homeless people. 
It finds temporary shelter for widows and 



than when ment of sol- 
they left. ^'''' 
Their leisure time, there- 
fore, should be properly 
spent, and they should 
have such comforts and 
entertainments as will 
keep them healthy 
minded and happy. A 
great force of workers is 
employed to assist the 
^^^^^ ^^^ soldier in these respects. 

0r^^S^m iH They lead in many kinds 
of games, they organize 
schools, exhibit motion 
pictures, fiu-nish music 
and reading matter, and 
establish stores where 
needed articles can be 
bought at reasonable 
^c--^^^^^^ prices. The fighting 
>i"Jv*?'tr: -;^^^ power of men is much 
affected by such care, as 
well as their health and 
morals. Such organi- 
zations as the Young 
Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, the Knights of 

Columbus, the Salvation Army, and Jewish 

societies have assumed responsibility for this 

work, 

10. The War in 1918 

In the west the Germans aimed at the 
Chaimel ports, especially Calais, and at Paris. 
Their plan was to break through On the wes- 
tlie line of defense at once, or by tern front 
one drive after another to bend it until it 
would have to give way. The drives began 
in ]\Iarch, and one after another was made 



Underwood and Underwood 
Food Conservation com- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



35 



with tremendous force. 
The Allies had to yield 
extensive areas, until, on 
July 15, the line stood as 
shown in Fig. 18. 

On July 15 another 
terrific drive began 
which allowed the Ger- 
mans to cross the Marne. 
The French suffered 
heavy losses ; but the 
American Army was in 
the line, and helped to 
meet the shock. Our 
men fought like ^•eter- 
ans and helped drive 
the invaders back across 
the IMarne. Then the 
Allies forced an offensive 
of their own and forced 
the Teutons to retreat 
further until Paris was 
made safe from attack. This second battle 
of the Marne seems likely to be remembered 
as the turning point in the war. Though 
the French forces were of course far larger 




fi*^^|fef ^^-^^^ ^♦^ 




British Official Photograph 
Fig. 35. — American troops on their way to the trenches on the British front, 



Fig. 34. 

than ours, General Pershing had o()0,0()0 
men in this battle, and 1,()00,()()() more in 
other parts of the line or in reserve. The 
great energy and skill that our country 

had shown dur- 
ing more than 
one year in cre- 
ating an army, 
building ships, 
and transport' 
ing men had now 
begun to count. 
Other attacks 
made by the 
Allies soon after 
brought further 
disaster to the 
Teutons. 

On the Italian 
front, also, the 

tide On the 
^rgg Italian front 

turned in favor 
of the Allies. 



Q 




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04 




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H 


r 


K 


f^ 


o 


-< 


35 


D 
O 


w 


?; 


T' 




W 


K 




>^ 


-" 


K 


H 


o 




y. 






T 


*-H 


^ 


O 


>^ 


X 


H 


clj 


< 








-51 


< 


Ph 








UJ 


"s 




K 






r—, 












I 



s ^ *- 



0, :j 
■s 2 






36 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



37 



A great Austrian drive had been planned to 
crush Italy, while the British and French were 
kept too busy to give aid. This took place in 
May. At first success appeared to be with 
the Teutons. Then the Italians rallied, de- 
feated them, and drove them back. The 
Austrian leaders had promised their army 
food and supplies in abundance in the con- 
quered territory of fertile northern Italy. 
Money was eAen issued to them in advance 
to be spent in Venice. But there was no op- 
portunity to use it. 
Instead the arm;s' 
marched in great 
haste in the opposite 
direction, leaving be- 
hind them thousands 
of dead and of prison- 
ers and vast quanti- 
ties of war material. 

The state of affairs 
in Russia continued 
to worry the Allied 
nations, for the Ger- 
Events in m a n s 

Russia ^v e r e 

obtaining a firmer 
and firmer hold upon 
the country. Many 
persons urged armed 
intervention by the 
Allies. They be- 
lieved that a large part of the population, 
especially in Siberia, was hostile to Germany 
and would welcome an Allied army sent for 
their protection. It could best be sent, they 
thought, by way of Vladivostok (Fig. 455, 
main text) and might well be accompanied 
by experts who should help in reorganizing 
the government, industry, and education. 
Such a plan might finally, also, restore the 
battle line in Russia and thus compel Ger- 
many to withdraw soldiers from the west in 
order to oppose it. 

There was one important objection to such 
a move. To many of the Russians it might 



seem a plan for the conquest of their country 
by the Allies, and thus drive them into open 
sympathy with Germany. At the present 
time it appears that this objection has been 
overcome and that l)oth military and civil aid, 
as just indicated, will be sent to Russia in 
increasing quantity in the near future. 

In August Allied forces were landed on the 
INIermon coast and occupied Archangel on the 
White Sea (Fig. 358, main text), others in 
Vladivostok. These forces cooperated with 




© CommlUcc on Public Information 
Fig. 37. — French children greeting American soldiers on their way to the front in France. 



forces of friendly Russians and former subjects 
of Austria-Hungary who had been prisoners in 
Russia but now asserted their independence. 
The most important of these forces were 
the Czecho-Slovaks who had come from 
Bohemia and other subject states of Austria- 
Hungary. 

American participation in the war on a 
still vaster scale was assured when in August 
the limits of the draft age were lowered from 
twenty-one to eighteen and raised from 
thirty-one to forty-five, thus making avail- 
able several million more soldiers for the 
next year's campaign. 



38 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



11. Cost of the War 

^ There is no accurate wav- of estiinatinji; a 
great many of the costs of war. For exani])le 
it is difficult to assign a definite 
cost to the loss of a life, to 
a wound that partly or wholly 
disables a man for work ; to loss of health 
owing to exposure ; the pain endured by a 



Values that 
cannot be 
estimated 




© Underwood and Underwood 

Fig. 38. — American soldiers, veterans returned from the front to take part in the Third 

Liberty Loan campaign. 



wounded man even though the wound finally 
heals ; the life-long sorrow and loneliness due 
to death of loved ones ; the neglect in educa- 
tion and other care that children sufYer when 
they have been made orphans ; the anguish 
caused by the separation and partial destruc- 
tion of families living in the region of fighting. 
All such things are to be counted among the 
costs of war; indeed, they are the main costs 
because they show what a fearful thing war 
is, and should always be kept in mind when 



the glories of war are mentioned. Yet there 
is no way of estimating their worth. 

A few of the very many kinds of work re- 
quired for the conduct of war have been 
briefly described. Each of Expenses of 
these calls for vast sums of the war 
money. For example, the pay of a private 
soldier is thirty dollars per month, with an 
extra allowance of three dollars per month 

for foreign service. 
Three million sol- 
diers therefore wotdd 
cost the nation close 
to one htmdred mil- 
lion dollars per 
month. Clothing is 
an additional item, 
costing much more 
during war than in 
time of peace. It is 
estimated that dur- 
ing peace times each 
soldier, f ti 1 1 y 
e(juipi)ed, costs our 
government fifteen 
luuidred dollars a 
year. A single great 
camion costs many 
thousands of dollars, 
and a single shot 
from it at least several 
himdreds. The num- 
bers of men engaged 
in this war far exceed 
those in any previous 
war, and the expenses reach fabulous sums. 
In order to raise the money the govern- 
ments have not only levied imusually high 
taxes but have also borrowed extensively. 

Each nation had debts before the war be- 
gan ; but they have all been tremendously 
increased since that date. The indebtedness 
total debt of each country ac- of the leading 
cording to the latest estimates of "^t'O"^ ^^ w^*" 
the Department of Commerce of the United 
States was as follows : 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



39 



Nation 


Debt 


Percent op 
Indebtedness 


Great Britain and 






Ireland (l915)i . 


$5,673,374,000 


. 7.09 


France (1914) . . 


$6,347,540,000 


. 7.96 


Russia (1916) . . . 


$8,649,425,000 


. 21.62 


Italy (1914) . . . 


$3,043,926,000 


. 15.21 


United States (1916) 


$ 989,220,000 


.55 


Germany (1915) . . 


$6,191,544,000 


. 10.32 


Austria-Hungary 






(1914) . . 


$1,043,675,000 ] 




Austria, alone 






(1914) . . . 


$1,515,871,000 


^ 15.58 


Hungary, alone 






(1913) . . . 


$1,338,348,000 J 





^ Year for which the estimate was made. 



It is possible to estimate the worth of all 
the property owned by each nation and thus 
find its total wealth. Then by comparing 
the debt of each with this total wealth its 
percent of indebtedness can be shown. 

Note this per cent in the table. Observe 
that the wealth of the United States far ex- 
ceeds that of any one of the 
other countries. In fact, it is as '^^^ security 
great as that of several of them states loans 
added together. Observe, also, 
that our per cent of indebtedness is. smaller 
than that of an^' one of the other Powers. 



WEALTH 

S 50.000, ^ 000,000 S 100,000.000.000 S 150,000.000,000 



UNITED 
STATES ••• 

GREAT 
BRITAIN -- 

FRANCE. -- 
RUSSIA..,. 

ITALY 

BELGIUM... 
PORTUGAL 

GERMANY. 

AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY - 
TURKEY..-. 
BULGARIA. 



SI80.000.000.000 

...80,000,000,000 

...65,000,000,000 
...40,000,000,000 
...20,000,000,000 

9,000,000,000 

....2,500,000,000 



60,500.000,000 
25,000,000,000 



9.000,000,000 i 
2,000.000.000 \ 



■'>;^^;^^^-^^^y.^:^^:^^^^:ii:^^ 



' - '■'■'^^^^i^^^ 




'^y^^i^^^:^^^^^^i^yyy^y^.^^/yy:^ 



^^^%#^^ 



:-%^^ 



Fig. 3f». 



This means that the loans we make to our 
Government are far safer than those made to 
any one of these other Powers. In other 
words, our investments in United States 



l)onds and war savings stamps are the safest 
investments in the wide world. That is 
something to make us proud, and also to make 
us eager to make more loans to Uncle Sam. 



40 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Nation 



France 



DECLARATIONS OF WAR 

ALLIED POWERS 

Declaration of War Against 

Germany 

Austria 

Turkey 

Bulgaria 



1914 

Aug. 3 
Aug. 13 
Nov. 5 



Great Britain Germany 

Austria . 
Turkey . 
Bulgaria . 

Serbia Germany 

Turkey . 
Bulgaria . 

Montenegro Austria . 

Germany 



Aug. 
Aug. 
Nov. 



Aug. 
Dec. 



Aug. 
Aug. 



Japan 

Russia Turkey . 

Bulgaria . 

Portugal Germany 

Ttqiv Austria . 

^^ ^ Turkey . 

Bulgaria . 

CJermany 

San Marino Austria . 

Roumania Austria . 

Greece Germany 

Bulgaria . 

United States Germany 

Austria . 

Cuba Germany 

Panama Germany 

Austria . 

China Germany 

Austria . 

Brazil Germany 

Siam Germany 

Austria . 

Liberia Germany 



Germany ^"S- 



Nov, 



8 
9 

23 

3 



Nov. 23 



CENTRAL POWERS 

Nation Declaration of War Against 1914 

Germany Russia 'Aug. 1 

France Aug. 3 

Belgium Aug. 4 

Portugal 

Roumania 



Austria 



Serbia 
Russia 
Montenegro 
Japan 



July 
Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug. 



Belgium Aug. 28 



Turkey Allies . . 

Roumania 



Nov. 23 



Bulgaria Serbia 



1916 



1917 



Oct. 16 



Oct. 15 



Oct. 16 



Oct. 19 



May 24 
Aug. 21 
Oct. 19 



May 24 



Aug. 28 



Aug. 
Nov 



27 
28 



1916 



Mai. 9 
Sept. 14 



Aug. 29 



July 2 
July 2 

Apr. 6 
Dec. 7 

Apr. 7 

Apr. 7 
Dec. 10 

Aug. 14 
Aug. 14 

Oct. 26 

July 22 
July 22 

Aug. 4 



1917 



Oct. 14 



NATIONS THAT HAVE SEVERED RELATIONS WITH GERMANY 



Bolivia Apr; 14, 19 / 

Guatemala April 2/^, 1917 

Honduras May J'.lQi 

Nicaragua May 18, 1917 

' Declaration of war by the provisional government of Greece. 



Haiti . . 
Costa Rica 
Peru 
Uruguay . 



June 17, 1917 
Sept. 21, 1917 
Oct. 6, 1917 
Oct. 7, 1917 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



021 547 873 7 • 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS # 

021 547 873 7 



